The teen's attitude, especially for a first-year NBA player, is  according to Sloan  "as good as you can get."

So is his work ethic, which has included midnight workouts in the summertime at the Jazz's practice facility and sessions with new mentor Mehmet Okur.

"He's a pleasant guy to be around," Sloan said, "because he works hard and doesn't say anything and just tries to do his job.

"He doesn't shy away from anything. ... He doesn't get at the back of the line and stay there. He's willing to step up and get after it."

But can he play?

Kevin O'Connor, for one, seems to think so.

"The toughest thing to appreciate is that he's a 19-year-old," said O'Connor, who tapped the Ohio State freshman with the No. 23 overall selection in last June's NBA Draft. "He's in great shape, and he's stronger than most guys are at that age.

"The thing that sticks out the most is how hard he works. He's gonna hit a wall somewhere along the line, I'm sure, and go through some stuff. But so far he has worked extremely hard. And if you're that size, and you work hard, and you've got some skills, you usually succeed.

"That's what we like to see," the Jazz general manager added. "His work ethic is at a higher level, and higher intensity, than most players we've seen come in that have had just high school or very limited college experience."

No wonder big Turk Okur has willingly taken the young Greek-American under his wing.

The two enjoyed one-on-one workouts during the month prior to Jazz training camp at Boise State University, which came to a close Friday morning.

Okur also shared some personal words following a team scrimmage Thursday.

The advice, according to Koufos: "He just told me to relax. I'm a rookie and have to relax and play in the system."

Whether or not he can crack the Jazz's regular rotation remains to be seen. He is, after all, still a rookie  Sloan's evident fondness for him notwithstanding.

But Koufos already seems to have a leg up on 2007 second-round draft choice Kyrylo Fesenko, and he may even have enough game already to avoid extended stays with the NBA Development League's Utah Flash.

Or so he seems to hope.

"It's obviously a lot better than college basketball," Koufos said of the quality of play in his first NBA camp. "But I feel like I can fit well in the program in due time.

"I'm just here to work hard, play hard," he added. "I feel like I can be a part of the team, help defensively and help offensively."

"He's a young player that we'd like to think can help us down the line," O'Connor said. "And when that occurs, I don't know."

"He's working really hard," Sloan added. "He listens, and I think he wants to be a good player."

But ready now?

"I don't know," the Jazz coach said. "I won't worry about the D-League and that at this point. He's made pretty good progress, so who knows?

"I think he has come farther that I expected from where he was in summer league," added Sloan, who on Friday used that Rocky Mountain Revue basis of comparison to call him the most-improved player in Jazz camp this week. "He's picked stuff up good and is more relaxed than he was."